Inhabited since 250 B.C., Djenné became a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was one of the centres for the propagation of Islam.

Des experts en architecture islamique tels que Labelle Prussin pensent que ces constructions coniques furent intégrées dans la conception des mosquées dans tout le Mali, et considèrent que la Grande ...